Category Archives: Cover Recordings

Dolenz began working with producer David Harris a few years ago. As they discussed the album, Dolenz found himself telling stories such as attending a Beatles recording session for “Good Morning, Good Morning.” These stories insipired the selection of songs for the album.

Harry Nilsson is, undoubtably, the subject of many of Dolenz’s stories. “I was with him when he wrote a lot of songs. And of course, the Monkees were the first to record one of his songs.” The Monkees recorded “Cuddly Toy,” one of the first recordings of a song by Harry Nilsson. “Of course, I think Harry would have done very well with or without the Monkees, but it’s nice to think we might have had some role in helping him get started. We became very close after that; in fact, we became best buds.”

Netherfriends, a Chicago, Illinois, band has recorded a tribute to Harry Nilsson in the form of a half-dozen songs created from samples of Harry Nilsson’s music. Shawn Rosenblatt, the only constant member of the group, layered samples from Nilsson’s recordings and remixed the vocals to create Netherfriends Does Nilsson.

The Lafayette, Louisiana, band decided to record the songs for the EP after appearing at a Harry Nilsson tribute. Embuing the songs with the group’s “trademark pop schizophrenia” – while ensuring that they can be performed live – took several months.

“Nilsson is a gifted songwriter, overshadowed by his famous friends.” explained Brass Bed’s frontman, Christiaan Maderstill, “His work hearkens back, in the best ways, to a time when the song itself was the prize. So it bears revisiting with new ideas for production.”